Today we’d like to introduce you to Alexandria Collins.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Alexandria. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I’ve been a creative and emotionally attuned person pretty much my whole life. Growing up in Tallahassee, FL, I was performing in summer camps and writing poems and scripts for my family to act out at holiday dinners. It was a natural progression to writing short stories and then screenplays in high school and college.
I majored in Broadcast Journalism at Florida A&M University and on the weekends friends and I would use the equipment to make short films. Nothing to show now (haha), but that was such a safe environment to explore and made the idea that filmmaking could be my career, real.
Post college, I moved to NYC and lived there for almost four years acting and directing professionally. A few shorts, festival selections and acting gigs later, I decided to move to LA in July 2017 and am really thankful to be here today! LA has matured me and my storytelling in many ways. It’s brought a new depth and a passion for my work. Everything I create now from my comedic series, Goals N’ Shit, to my feature scripts and other series concepts is rounded and meaningful.
I’m excited to continue fulfilling the dreams of the seven-year-old me who thought up her first poem in the school parking lot and realized how magical ideas and words can be.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Nope! I like to think of my journey thus far as “off-roading.” Mainly because I think we do ourselves a disservice as creatives to believe that a “smooth road” is to be expected or even a healthy and fully embodied experience of our development. Each struggle, detour, challenge and pain point makes you a more resilient and empathetic you.
Funny enough though, I felt I had a really smooth go of it for a while and then hit some challenges that shook me into actually creating more powerful work! Things like losing an agent, not booking work for stretches of time, re-imagining my identity after losses… plus, gate-keepers and the such took time to first, step outside of and analyze objectively then strategize on how to accomplish my mission in spite of. That’s where I found my power lies.
My advice for women and people of any age is to lay judgment and comparison to the side. Give it a good burial—it doesn’t serve you. For better or for worse actually! There will be seasons of great joy (happy to be in one at the moment), but that doesn’t define you just as the seasons of sorrow don’t. Stay focused on your messaging and your specific purpose in life and it will be exactly what it’s meant to be! Beautiful and tailored to you.
Please tell us more about your work, what you are currently focused on and most proud of.
I’m a writer (primarily for screen but in other forms as well), film director and actress. I specialize in narrative and branded storytelling and have been working professionally for about six years now.
As an independent producer, under my company label, Dangerwolf Pictures, I’m really excited for what’s to come! I’m working with some amazing creatives and execs now and am looking to partner with brands to create digital and traditional media content.
What I’m most proud of is how my views on storytelling have evolved. I aim to tell stories of all people, but especially those of marginalized groups. My focus is to examine our full humanity and multiplicity of experiences while incorporating absurdity to the narrative. I think it gives a levity and a chance to skew perspective in ways that are exciting to me. I’m enjoying the challenge of infusing that into my projects!
You can see more of my work in all areas on my website, alexandriacollins.com. More specifics on my credits are there, on LinkedIn and IMDB.
Looking back on your childhood, what experiences do you feel played an important role in shaping the person you grew up to be?
I grew up in a home of extroverts (not a single introvert among us) with bold personalities. We love a good debate, a good laugh, being gregarious. My family has always supported my creativity and I’m so thankful my parents put me in musical theatre camps as a child. I grew up in dance classes, gymnastics, modeling, doing speeches and leading songs at church. It was a performer’s heaven!
My mom would take me to Michael’s often and buy me crafts and paints whenever I wanted. We would go see movies (at least two) every Friday. Didn’t miss an opening. I had a really rich cultural and community upbringing that even with its challenges, gave me a strong foundation of confidence and belief in my abilities. It’s kind of given me this feeling of invincibility too! That’s been tested over the years and has proven a stalwart to me.
Even now, with parents and sisters that are all politically and government involved/minded, they are my biggest cheerleaders. I talk to one or more of them every day and they believe in me SO MUCH it’s crazy. Shout out to a family’s love in every season. It’ll pull you through!
My childhood has served me in many ways in and out of the industry. My success today is based on how well I’m loving myself, others and my work. I’m glad to say that I feel joyously successful in all those areas.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.alexandriacollins.com
- Email: acshawcollins@gmail.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/acscollins
- Other: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexandriacscollins/
Image Credit:
Davy Kesey, Darsak Patel
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